Unchained Voices
Ignatius Sancho and Muzio Clementi: Two Stories between Music and Humanity
Readings & Music
Edoardo Coen, actor
Andrea Coen, piano
Ignatius Sancho (1729–1780) was an extraordinary figure of the English Enlightenment. Born on a slave ship and orphaned at the age of two, he was brought to Great Britain where, through the support of the Duke of Montagu, he received an education uncommon for the period. Rising from butler to independent shopkeeper, Sancho established himself as an intellectual, writing essays and plays. He soon became involved in the burgeoning British abolitionist movement and became the first person of African descent in the Kingdom to exercise the right to vote, earning him the nickname “the extraordinary Negro.” His most famous work, The Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, an African, published posthumously, was the first collection of letters by an author of African origin to be printed. He holds the same record for his four published musical collections, containing minuets, country dances, and songs.
During those same years, Peter Beckford (1740–1811)—cousin of the wealthy writer and art collector William Beckford—departed London for his Grand Tour in 1765. While in Rome, Peter met the young, talented Muzio Clementi. Struck by his genius, Beckford obtained permission from Clementi’s father to bring him to his estate in Dorset, agreeing to quarterly payments for seven years: an arrangement Beckford candidly described as having “bought Clementi.” Despite living in a state of limited freedom while providing musical entertainment for the Beckford family, Clementi leveraged the opportunity through extraordinary dedication. This unique “servitude” led him to become the predominant figure of the English musical scene of his time.
Beyond their foreign origins and shared beginnings in semi-liberty, Sancho and Clementi share remarkable milestones. Both are buried within the Westminster Abbey complex (Sancho at St. Margaret’s and Clementi in the cloisters). Furthermore, William Beckford was a subscriber to Sancho’s letters, linking their social circles, and Clementi was the first to include an African-inspired piece (the Calemba) in a piano method book.
This reading concert by Andrea and Edoardo Coen celebrates these intertwined lives, alternating Sancho’s vibrant letters and rare musical compositions with the memorable slow movements of Clementi’s sonatas.
Andrea and Edoardo Coen, father and son, have formed a unique duo that has gained international acclaim over several years. Their artistic expression is based on the interaction between music and the spoken word, often marking significant cultural anniversaries such as those of Dante and Calvino.
Andrea Coen has been active since the 1980s as a concert performer and musicologist in the field of Early Music, performing worldwide as a harpsichordist, organist, and fortepianist. Regarded as a leading expert on the transition from the harpsichord to the piano, he has produced dozens of recordings and numerous editions of rare or unpublished 17th and 18th-century works. He has collaborated regularly with major soloists and Early Music ensembles and served as a consultant for Sacred Music to the Pontifical Council for Culture. He currently holds the chair of Harpsichord and Historical Keyboards at the “A. Casella” Conservatory in L’Aquila.
Edoardo Coen trained at the Silvio d’Amico National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome. He began his theatrical career at a very young age, working under the direction of Lorenzo Salveti, Massimiliano Civica, and Giancarlo Sepe, among others. In 2019, he toured in Luigi Pirandello’s Henry IV, adapted by Carlo Cecchi, later appearing in the production directed by Yannis Kokkos. In 2021, he starred in the Netflix original series Luna Park, and in 2023, he appeared in the film La vita accanto (The Life Alongside), directed by Marco Tullio Giordana.
